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Lazarus Air Dreadnought
"Do not underestimate us, we will return." :- Lazarus Air Dreadnought captain after emergency landing Tactical Analysis *'Lazarus, come forth!': A massive, heavily armoured zeppelin, the Lazarus Air Dreadnought's Talon Steel plating gives it extraordinary durability, allowing to take quite a beating, while its cargo hold lets it transport other Talon forces. *'Cleanse them': For offense, the Lazarus possesses multiple rocket batteries, capable of saturating the surface with immense if inaccurate rocket volleys, effective against most manner of targets on the ground. *'Clear the skies': The Lazarus is no less formidable in air-to-air combat; it is armed with multiple pyro-shell cannons capable of reducing the mightiest airship in the sky to a burning heap, while its escort of Fokker D.VII biplanes pepper smaller, faster aircraft with bullets. *'Risen from the grave': The Lazarus is truly befitting of its namesake, as even if one of these monstrosities is downed, it will land safely on the ground, turning into a stationary fortress. One must make sure to destroy it completely, or else it will eventually take back to the skies. Operational History During World War I, chief forgemasters and high priests of the Order witnessed what airships were capable of. Even as the British biplanes attacked German airships in the skies, the airships were capable of enduring enough bullets to fly above its target and release many bombs before being taken down. However, they also witnessed the decline of the airship after the improvements in airplane technology and the development of faster bombers. Never the less, this did not deter them from going on to create one of the most formidable behemoths to sail the skies. The best forgemasters and engineers of the Order thus gathered together into their new base in Golan Heights, the "Sacred Forges of the Brother Gregor". The research and development of the Order's answer to the German, and soon Soviet, airships started. For two years, forgemasters secretly worked on the ultimate design, and when several senior Templars were allowed to enter the hangar where the airship was moored, even they were in awe when they saw the sight that befell their eyes. A massive, sleek airship, spanning the entire length of the hangar and clad in Talon Steel. Painted in the black and white of the Order and decorated with the insignia of the Talon, it was a majestic sight to behold. The fireports held five 80mm cannons, supplemented by three rocket batteries. The interior of the airship was no less impressive, dominated by huge steam boilers and two massive holds. Unusually, the gas cells accounted for a surprisingly small volume of the entire airship; thanks to the Order's advanced steam technology, the forgemasters were able to construct massive steam boilers that could create vast amounts of superheated steam, which produced immense amounts of lift, just enough to lift the massive, Talon Steel armoured airship. The rest of the airship was dedicated to vast ammunition storages, fuel tanks, suprisingly spacious crew cabins, and storages for repair equipment and spare parts. By the time the Templars had finished their inspection of the of the airship, the forgemasters and the crew were ready for the demonstration of the airship's capabilities, and invited the Templars to join them on the airship's maiden voyage. Once all the preparations had been completed, the massive steam engines came to life and inflated the gas cells. The airship lifted off, and the hangar roof opened to let the airship out. The massive airship ascended to the skies, arriving over the target zone in due time. The moment the airship was within range, the captain gave the order to fire, unleashing a salvo of rockets from the starboard battery. The rockets burst apart as they struck the captured Cult vehicles, the resultant shrapnel punching through the lightly armoured vehicles and and mock cultists and reducing them to tattered shreds in seconds. The mock cultists wiped out, it was time for the airship's next test. Several target blimps had been set up; now the Lazarus opened fire on them with its pyro-shell cannons, the blimps bursting into flames as the shells struck their envelopes--soon, all of the target blimps were falling to the ground, wreathed in flames. For the final test, the airship approached its final target; a genuine village that a Cult cell was known to be operating out of. As the airship neared the village, it opened one of its holds, releasing a pair of biplanes out into the open. The Templars were most impressed by how the forgemasters had managed to fit the fighters inside the Lazarus, as the biplanes rained machine gun fire down on the villagers. The airship concluded its maiden flight as it landed to let a platoon of Talon troops disembark from the other hold, in order to allow them to finish off what was left of the village. With the voyage concluded, production of more airships was approved in short order. Christened the Lazarus Air Dreadnoughts, they continue to serve the Talon to this day, transporting the forces of the Order and raining death upon their foes. Development & Status * The Lazarus was modelled by AstralXYZ. Just the Stats Category:Units